JP6229286B2 - Liquid ejector, medical equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to liquid ejection.

  There is known a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid intermittently by changing the volume of the liquid chamber using an actuator using a piezoelectric element and generating pulsation in the pressure of the liquid in the liquid chamber (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

JP 2008-82202 A

  The problem of the prior art is that bubbles tend to accumulate in the liquid chamber. Bubbles in the liquid chamber are generated from the liquid in the liquid chamber due to the volume variation of the liquid chamber. When bubbles accumulate in the liquid chamber, the volume fluctuation of the liquid chamber is absorbed by the volume fluctuation of the bubbles, and it may not be possible to generate an appropriate pulsation.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms.

(1) According to an aspect of the present invention, a liquid ejecting apparatus is provided. The liquid ejecting apparatus communicates with a volume changing unit that changes the volume in the liquid chamber; a liquid supply unit that supplies liquid to the liquid chamber through the first flow path; and a second flow path that communicates with the volume changing unit. A cross-sectional area of the second flow path is at least five times a cross-sectional area of the first flow path; and the first and second flow paths are It arrange | positions so that it may oppose through the center vicinity of the said volume fluctuation | variation part. According to this embodiment, bubbles in the liquid chamber are easily discharged through the ejection pipe. Since the first and second flow paths are arranged so as to face each other through the vicinity of the center of the volume changing portion, the flow in the liquid chamber is hardly stagnated, and in addition, the cross-sectional area of the second flow path is the first flow. This is because bubbles are more likely to flow into the injection pipe because the cross-sectional area of the passage is 5 times or more.

(2) In the above aspect, the second flow path is disposed closer to the edge of the liquid chamber than the first flow path. According to this form, bubbles in the liquid chamber are more easily discharged. This is because, since the second flow path is arranged closer to the edge of the liquid chamber than the first flow path, it is possible to suppress bubbles from being accumulated between the second flow path and the edge of the liquid chamber.

(3) The said form WHEREIN: The guidance part which guide | induces so that it may be used in the state in which the said 2nd flow path is located above the said 1st flow path is provided. According to this form, bubbles in the liquid chamber are more easily discharged. There is a possibility that the second channel is used in a state where the second channel is positioned above the first channel by guiding the second channel to be used in a state where the second channel is positioned above the first channel. Get higher. If the second channel is used in a state where it is located above the first channel, bubbles are easily moved to the vicinity of the second channel by buoyancy due to the influence of gravity. As a result, the above effect can be obtained.

(4) In the above embodiment, a suction flow path for sucking the liquid around the ejection port; at least a part of the ejection pipe; at least a part of the liquid supply flow path; the volume fluctuation unit; A container for accommodating at least a part of the suction flow path; and a suction adjustment mechanism for adjusting the degree of suction by the suction flow path; the suction adjustment mechanism is an operation unit provided in the container The guiding part is the operation part. According to this embodiment, the above guidance can be realized using the operation unit.

(5) In the above embodiment, the container includes a container that houses at least a part of the ejection pipe, at least a part of the liquid supply flow path, and the volume changing unit; and the guide unit is provided in the container Grip. According to this form, the above-mentioned guidance can be realized using a grip.

(6) In the above aspect, the container includes a container that accommodates a part of the ejection pipe, at least a part of the liquid supply flow path, and the volume changing unit; and the guide part is a part of the ejection pipe As a curved portion located outside the container. According to this aspect, the above-described guidance can be realized using the bending portion.

(7) The liquid ejecting apparatus includes a volume fluctuation unit that generates pulsation in the liquid in the liquid chamber; a liquid supply unit that supplies the liquid to the liquid chamber through the first flow path; and supply of the liquid in which the pulsation has occurred. An injection pipe that receives the supplied liquid from the injection port through the second flow path and injects the supplied liquid from an injection port; and an upper and lower defining part that defines the upper and lower sides of the volume variation part; The area is larger than the cross-sectional area of the first flow path; the second flow path is disposed above the first flow path with reference to the definition by the upper and lower defining portions. According to this embodiment, bubbles in the liquid chamber are easily discharged through the ejection pipe. This is because the second flow path is disposed above the first flow path, and in addition, the cross-sectional area of the second flow path is larger than the cross-sectional area of the first flow path.

(8) A medical device using the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the above aspect. According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a medical device using the liquid ejecting apparatus in which bubbles do not easily accumulate in the liquid chamber.

  The plurality of constituent elements of each of the embodiments of the present invention described above are not necessarily essential, but to solve part or all of the above-described problems or a part of the effects described in the present specification. Or, in order to achieve all of them, it is possible to change, delete, replace with other new components, or delete some of the limited contents of some components of the plurality of components as appropriate. is there. Further, in order to solve part or all of the above-described problems or to achieve part or all of the effects described in the present specification, technical features included in one embodiment of the present invention described above. A part or all of the technical features included in the other aspects of the present invention described above may be combined to form an independent form of the present invention.

  For example, one aspect of the present invention can be realized as an apparatus including a part or all of the elements of the volume changing unit, the liquid supply unit, and the ejection pipe. This device may or may not have a volume variation section. The apparatus may or may not have a liquid supply unit. The device may or may not have an injection tube. The volume changing unit may change the volume in the liquid chamber, for example. For example, the liquid supply unit may supply the liquid to the liquid chamber through the first flow path. For example, the ejection pipe communicates with the second flow path communicating with the volume changing portion, and may eject the liquid from the ejection port. The cross-sectional area of the second flow path may be 5 times or more the cross-sectional area of the first flow path. The first flow path and the second flow path may be arranged to face each other through the vicinity of the center of the volume changing portion. Such an apparatus can be realized as, for example, a liquid ejecting apparatus, but can also be realized as an apparatus other than the liquid ejecting apparatus. According to such an embodiment, it is possible to solve at least one of various problems such as downsizing of the apparatus, cost reduction, resource saving, easy manufacture, and improvement in usability. Any or all of the technical features of each form of the liquid ejecting apparatus described above can be applied to this apparatus.

  The present invention can be realized in various forms other than the above. For example, the present invention can be realized in the form of a liquid ejecting method, a surgical method, a program for realizing these methods, a storage medium storing these programs, and the like.

1 is a configuration diagram of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The internal structure figure of a handpiece. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a third embodiment.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus 10. The liquid ejecting apparatus 10 is a medical device used in a medical institution, and has a function of incising or excising an affected part by ejecting liquid onto the affected part.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus 10 includes a handpiece 20, a liquid supply mechanism 50, a suction device 60, a control unit 70, and a liquid container 80. The liquid supply mechanism 50 and the liquid container 80 are connected to each other by a connection tube 51. The liquid supply mechanism 50 and the handpiece 20 are connected to each other by a liquid supply channel 52. At least a part of the connection tube 51 and the liquid supply flow path 52 is formed of resin. At least a part of the connection tube 51 and the liquid supply channel 52 may be formed of a material other than resin (for example, rubber or metal).

  The liquid container 80 stores physiological saline. The liquid supply mechanism 50 supplies the liquid sucked from the liquid container 80 via the connection tube 51 to the handpiece 20 via the liquid supply channel 52.

  The handpiece 20 is an instrument that is held and operated by a user of the liquid ejecting apparatus 10. The pulsation generator 30 built in the handpiece 20 generates a pulsation of the pressure of the liquid supplied from the liquid supply mechanism 50 to the handpiece 20 via the liquid supply channel 52. The liquid in which the pressure pulsation has occurred is supplied to the ejection pipe 55. The liquid supplied to the ejection pipe 55 is ejected intermittently from the ejection port 58. The user performs incision or excision of the affected part by applying the liquid ejected from the ejection port 58 to the affected part. The injection pipe 55 is made of stainless steel. At least a part of the injection pipe 55 may be formed of another material having a predetermined rigidity or more, such as another metal such as brass or reinforced plastic.

  The controller 70 transmits a drive signal to the pulsation generator 30 via the signal cable 72. The control unit 70 controls the flow rate of the liquid supplied to the pulsation generating unit 30 by controlling the liquid supply mechanism 50 via the control cable 71. A foot switch 75 is connected to the control unit 70. When the user turns on the foot switch 75, the control unit 70 controls the liquid supply mechanism 50 to execute the supply of the liquid to the pulsation generation unit 30 and transmits a drive signal to the pulsation generation unit 30. The pulsation is generated in the pressure of the liquid supplied to the pulsation generator 30.

  The suction device 60 is for sucking liquid and excision around the ejection port 58. The suction device 60 and the handpiece 20 are connected to each other by a suction flow path 62. The suction channel 62 penetrates through the handpiece 20 and opens near the tip of the ejection pipe 55. The suction flow path 62 is covered with the injection pipe 55 in the handpiece 20 so that the wall of the injection pipe 55 and the wall of the suction flow path 62 are substantially concentric cylinders as shown in FIG. Form. Between the outer wall of the ejection pipe 55 and the inner wall of the suction flow path 62, a flow path is formed through which the suctioned material sucked from the suction port 64, which is the tip of the suction flow path 62, flows. The sucked material is sucked into the suction device 60 through the suction channel 62.

  FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the handpiece 20. The handpiece 20 includes a pulsation generator 30, an inlet channel 40, an outlet channel 41, and a connection tube 54, and includes a suction force adjustment mechanism 65.

  As shown in the lower part of FIG. 2, the pulsation generator 30 includes a first case 31, a second case 32, a third case 33, a bolt 34, a piezoelectric element 35, a reinforcing plate 36, a diaphragm 37, a packing 38, an inlet flow, and the like. A channel 40 and an outlet channel 41 are provided. The first case 31 and the second case 32 are joined to face each other. The first case 31 is a cylindrical member. One end of the first case 31 is sealed by fixing the third case 33 with a bolt 34. A piezoelectric element 35 is disposed in a space formed inside the first case 31.

  The piezoelectric element 35 is a stacked piezoelectric element. One end of the piezoelectric element 35 is fixed to the diaphragm 37 via the reinforcing plate 36. The other end of the piezoelectric element 35 is fixed to the third case 33. The diaphragm 37 is made of a metal thin film, and the peripheral edge is fixed to the first case 31. A liquid chamber 39 is formed between the diaphragm 37 and the second case 32. The volume of the liquid chamber 39 varies as the piezoelectric element 35 is driven.

  The signal cable 72 is inserted from the rear end portion 22 of the handpiece 20. The two electrode wires 74 are accommodated in the signal cable 72 and are connected to the piezoelectric element 35 in the pulsation generator 30. The drive signal transmitted from the control unit 70 is transmitted to the piezoelectric element 35 via the electrode line 74 in the signal cable 72. The piezoelectric element 35 expands and contracts based on the drive signal.

  The second case 32 is connected to an inlet channel 40 through which liquid flows. The inlet channel 40 is bent in a U shape and extends toward the rear end 22 of the handpiece 20. A liquid supply channel 52 is connected to the inlet channel 40. The liquid supplied from the liquid supply mechanism 50 is supplied to the liquid chamber 39 via the liquid supply channel 52.

  When the piezoelectric element 35 expands and contracts at a predetermined frequency (for example, 10 to 1000 Hz), the diaphragm 37 vibrates. When the diaphragm 37 vibrates, the volume of the liquid chamber 39 changes, and the pressure of the liquid in the liquid chamber pulsates. The liquid that has passed through the liquid chamber 39 flows out from the outlet channel 41.

  The outlet channel 41 is connected to the second case 32. An ejection pipe 55 is connected to the outlet channel 41 via a connection tube 54. The liquid that has flowed into the outlet channel 41 is ejected from the ejection port 58 through the connection tube 54 and the ejection pipe 55.

  On the other hand, the suction force adjusting mechanism 65 is for adjusting the force with which the suction channel 62 sucks liquid or the like from the suction port 64. The suction force adjustment mechanism 65 includes an operation unit 66 and a hole 67. The hole 67 is a through hole that connects the suction channel 62 and the operation unit 66. When the user opens and closes the hole 67 with the finger of the hand holding the handpiece 20, the amount of air flowing into the suction channel 62 through the hole 67 is adjusted depending on the degree of opening and closing, and as a result, the suction of the suction port 64. The power is adjusted. The adjustment of the suction force can also be realized by the control by the suction device 60.

  When the hole 67 is directed upward in the vertical direction, it is preferable that the suctioned matter is not easily discharged from the hole 67 to the outside due to gravity. This phenomenon guides the user to hold the handpiece 20 in a posture in which the hole 67 is upward in the vertical direction. Hereinafter, the axial direction of the hole 67 is defined as “vertical direction”, and the direction from the connection portion between the hole 67 and the suction channel 62 to the opening of the hole 67 is defined as “upward in the vertical direction”. Hereinafter, when simply referred to as “upward”, it means upward in the vertical direction.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus 10, the position of each component is determined so that the function and operability of the suction force adjusting mechanism 65 are favorable when the hole 67 is upward. However, the suction force adjusting mechanism 65 does not force the user how to use the handpiece 20 during use.

  As shown in the BB cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the connection part of the liquid chamber 39 and the outlet channel 41 (hereinafter referred to as “exit part”) and the connection part of the liquid chamber 39 and the inlet channel 40 (hereinafter “inlet” The portion is referred to as being opposed to the vicinity of the center of the liquid chamber 39. The exit site is located above the entrance site. Therefore, the bubbles are easily moved to the vicinity of the exit site by buoyancy due to the influence of gravity, and the discharge of the bubbles is promoted. In addition, in the vertical relationship, not only the positional relationship directly above and directly below, but also a high and low relationship is included. The flow path area S1 at the exit site is larger than the flow path area S2 at the entrance site, for example, 5 times. Due to this arrangement and the difference in flow path area, the back flow of the liquid to the inlet flow path 40 is suppressed when the volume of the liquid chamber 39 changes, and the discharge of bubbles from the liquid chamber 39 to the inlet flow path 40 is prevented. Promoted. From the above, the discharge of the remaining bubbles discharged during filling of liquid and the mixed bubbles during use is promoted, and the pressure of the liquid in the liquid chamber 39 pulsates appropriately. The vicinity of the center of the liquid chamber 39 is the center of the side surface of the liquid chamber 39 to which the inlet portion and the outlet portion are connected, and is within a range of 0.25 t when the distance from the center to the side surface is t. It shows that there is.

  2, the distance G1 from the inner wall of the outlet portion to the edge of the liquid chamber 39 is shorter than the distance G2 from the inner wall of the inlet portion to the edge of the liquid chamber 39. This makes it difficult for bubbles to stay between the inner wall of the outlet channel 41 and the edge of the liquid chamber 39.

  The correspondence relationship between the first embodiment and the claims will be described. The handpiece 20 is a container, the piezoelectric element 35 and the diaphragm 37 are in a volume variation part, the inlet channel 40 is in a first channel, the outlet channel 41 is in a second channel, and the liquid supply mechanism 50 is in liquid supply. The suction force adjusting mechanism 65 corresponds to the guide part and the vertical defining part.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus 10a according to the second embodiment. The liquid ejecting apparatus 10a is different from the liquid ejecting apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment in that a handpiece 20a is provided instead of the handpiece 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the handpiece 20a includes a lip 68 including a concave or convex shape on the outer surface. The grip 68 facilitates gripping the handpiece 20 a and guides the user to grip the handpiece 20 in a posture in which the outlet channel 41 is positioned above the inlet channel 40. That is, the grip 68 corresponds to the guiding portion in the claims.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the liquid ejecting apparatus 10b according to the third embodiment. The liquid ejecting apparatus 10 b is different from the liquid ejecting apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment in that a hand piece 20 b is provided instead of the hand piece 20.

  The handpiece 20b includes a curved portion 69 as shown in FIG. The bending portion 69 is a part of the ejection tube 55 and is a portion that is curved in a portion exposed from the handpiece 20b. The bending portion 69 is bent in a direction parallel to the specific plane, and is not bent in a direction orthogonal to the specific plane. The specific plane is a plane including the vertical direction and the axis of the injection pipe 55 in a straight portion.

  The curved portion 69 facilitates the liquid to be ejected to a target position and guides the user to hold the handpiece 20 in a posture in which the outlet channel 41 is positioned above the inlet channel 40. To do. That is, the curved portion 69 corresponds to the guiding portion in the claims.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, examples, and modifications of the present specification, and can be implemented with various configurations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the technical features in the embodiments, examples, and modifications corresponding to the technical features in the embodiments described in the summary section of the invention are to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or In order to achieve part or all of the effects described above, replacement or combination can be performed as appropriate. If the technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. For example, the following are exemplified.

A plurality of methods may be combined for realizing the guiding unit. For example, two or three of a suction force adjusting mechanism, a grip, and a curved portion may be combined, or other methods may be further combined.
The area of the outlet channel may be smaller or larger than five times the area of the inlet channel.

You may prescribe | regulate an up-down direction by drawing line drawings, such as an arrow and a character which show an up-down direction, on a handpiece.
You may prescribe | regulate the up-down direction of a handpiece by making the cross-sectional shape of a handpiece into an ellipse, and drawing out an injection pipe from the upper part of an ellipse in the front-end | tip part of a handpiece.
The handpiece may be equipped with a tilt sensor or a level, and the user may be notified of the vertical direction using these measurement results.
The posture of the handpiece may be read using a sensor provided outside the handpiece to notify the user of the vertical direction.

The up / down defining part may be realized by a function exhibited by the handpiece alone.
The up-and-down defining part is a device other than the handpiece, and may be realized by a function exhibited by a device included in the liquid ejecting apparatus.
The vertical defining part may be realized by a function that the liquid ejecting apparatus and another apparatus cooperate to exhibit.

The up / down defining section may define the up / down direction as the use direction of the container when the user uses the liquid ejecting apparatus.
When the function / characteristics of the liquid ejecting apparatus change depending on the direction of the container, the vertical defining part may define the vertical direction of the container with reference to the direction of the container in which the function / characteristics are suitably exhibited. Good.
The up / down defining unit may provide the user with information defining the up / down direction of the container with respect to at least one of the five senses such as sight, touch, and hearing of the user of the liquid ejecting apparatus.
The up / down defining part may guide the user to use the container in a predetermined posture by using various elements provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus. Various elements include shape, pattern, color, line drawing, character, mark, sound, light, operability, design, and the like.
The vertical defining portion may be suppressed from being used in a direction other than the vertical direction prescribed by the user by various elements included in the liquid ejecting apparatus.

The liquid ejecting apparatus may be used other than medical equipment.
For example, the liquid ejecting apparatus may be used in a cleaning apparatus that removes dirt with the ejected liquid.
The liquid ejecting apparatus may be used in a drawing apparatus that draws a line or the like with the ejected liquid.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Liquid ejecting apparatus 10a ... Liquid ejecting apparatus 10b ... Liquid ejecting apparatus 20 ... Hand piece 20a ... Hand piece 20b ... Hand piece 22 ... Rear end part 24 ... Front end part 30 ... Pulsation generating part 31 ... First case 32 ... Second Case 33 ... Third case 34 ... Bolt 35 ... Piezoelectric element 36 ... Reinforcing plate 37 ... Diaphragm 38 ... Packing 39 ... Liquid chamber 40 ... Inlet channel 41 ... Outlet channel 50 ... Liquid supply mechanism 51 ... Connection tube 52 ... Liquid supply Flow path 54 ... Connecting tube 55 ... Injection pipe 58 ... Injection port 60 ... Suction device 62 ... Suction flow path 64 ... Suction port 65 ... Suction force adjusting mechanism 66 ... Operating section 67 ... Hole 68 ... Grip 69 ... Bending section 70 ... Control Part 71 ... Control cable 72 ... Signal cable 74 ... Electrode wire 75 ... Foot switch 80 ... Liquid container

Claims (4)

A volume changing section for changing the volume in the liquid chamber;
A liquid supply section for supplying liquid to the liquid chamber through the first flow path;
An injection pipe that communicates with the second flow path that communicates with the volume variation unit, and that ejects liquid from the ejection port ;
A guide portion urchin induced by used in a state where the second flow path is located above the said first passage,
A suction flow path for sucking liquid around the ejection port;
A container that accommodates at least a part of the ejection pipe, at least a part of the first flow path, the volume variation unit, and at least a part of the suction flow path;
A suction adjustment mechanism for adjusting the degree of suction by the suction channel;
The cross-sectional area of the second flow path is at least five times the cross-sectional area of the first flow path;
The first and second flow paths are arranged so as to face each other through the vicinity of the center of the volume changing portion ,
The suction adjustment mechanism has an operation unit provided in the container,
The guiding unit is the operation unit. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second flow path is disposed closer to an edge of the liquid chamber than the first flow path. A volume fluctuation section for generating pulsation in the liquid in the liquid chamber;
A liquid supply section for supplying liquid to the liquid chamber through the first flow path;
An injection pipe that receives the supply of the liquid in which the pulsation has occurred from the volume changing unit through the second flow path, and injects the supplied liquid from an injection port;
An upper and lower defining part for defining the upper and lower sides of the volume varying part ;
A guiding section for guiding the second flow path to be used in a state of being located above the first flow path;
A suction flow path for sucking liquid around the ejection port;
A container that accommodates at least a part of the ejection pipe, at least a part of the first flow path, the volume variation unit, and at least a part of the suction flow path;
A suction adjustment mechanism for adjusting the degree of suction by the suction channel;
The cross-sectional area of the second flow path is larger than the cross-sectional area of the first flow path,
The second flow path is disposed above the first flow path with reference to the definition by the up-and-down defining portion ,
The suction adjustment mechanism has an operation unit provided in the container,
The liquid ejecting apparatus , wherein the guide unit is the operation unit . A medical device using the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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